Scottie Scheffler is at the top of the golf world right now, and there’s quite a wide gap before you get to the second player on that list. Despite his recent dominance over the rest of the PGA Tour, the World No. 1 is still a humble competitor who respects and admires his peers. He proved that once again with his recent comments on PGA Tour veteran Justin Rose.
Rose, who just cruised to a wire-to-wire victory at the Farmers Insurance Open last week, proved he has no plans on slowing down at 45 years old. In fact, he might even be improving with age.
Last year, Rose won a FedEx Cup Playoff event and nearly won his first green jacket after forcing a playoff against Rory McIlroy at the Masters. So far in 2026, his club head speed is the fastest it’s been since the 2015-16 season. Rose’s career renaissance is even impressing the most dominant golfer since Tiger Woods.
Scottie Scheffler Marvels at Justin Rose
Scottie Scheffler is impressed with Justin Rose’s commitment to physical health, and says that his hard work is inspiring for young golfers.
Ahead of this week’s WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale, a reporter asked Scheffler about Rose’s impressive victory at Torrey Pines. Based on his answer, Scheffler was just as impressed as the rest of us.
“I think it’s inspiring for the young guys to see somebody at that age do the things that he does,” Scheffler continued. “I mean, I’m 29, and I feel tired already. I can’t imagine what I’ll feel like at 45. I can’t say enough about how impressive it is for him to still be putting up the scores.—even the ball speed. He was almost keeping up with me when we were playing in Palm Springs. Guy has got plenty of speed and plenty of talent and obviously plenty of work ethic to go with it. I don’t think he’s slowing down anytime soon.”
Scheffler Continues to Prove He’s not Tiger Woods
GettyJustin Rose and Scottie Scheffler share a mutual respect for each other.
Scheffler gets compared to Woods on a weekly basis nowadays. His play over the last four years warrants it, but the Texan goes about it in a much different way.
When Woods teed it up on the PGA Tour, his only goal was to crush the souls of everyone else in the tournament. He didn’t see his competitors as friends or peers—rather, obstacles standing in the way of his trophy.
Scheffler doesn’t operate that way. He respects and even admires his fellow competitors on the PGA Tour. Scheffler doesn’t act like a man who’s won 16 of the last 38 golf tournaments he’s played. He operates as if he’s still lucky to be out there competing against the legends who came before him, and that will never change.
Dominant Scottie Scheffler in Awe of 45-Year-Old PGA Tour Pro